The Lakers pre-draft workouts have been well studied by the front office, in search of the next Jordan Clarkson at picks No. 27 and 34. The Lakers have yet to work out candidates for the No. 2 overall pick. (Photo by Brad Graverson/The Daily Breeze)

Jordan Clarkson defends John Wall of the Washington Wizards during his all-rookie season for the Lakers.(Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News)

In what became his routine for nearly a week, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak stared intently at countless prospects completing repetitive drills.

Kupchak followed this ritual twice last week when the Lakers began hosting pre-draft workouts. Kupchak did it again this week when the Lakers conducted more workouts on Monday and Tuesday. He will do it again on Wednesday and Friday.

All of this work could ensure the Lakers become familiar with the whole landscape for the NBA Draft on June 25 where the Lakers will have the second, 27th and 34th overall picks. The Lakers have yet to schedule a workout for the prospects they will consider with their No. 2 selection. But the Lakers have watched plenty of workouts for players that could fall in either the 27th or 34th slots.

“We’re hopeful we can find somebody,” Kupchak said in a recent interview with Los Angeles News Group. “You look for a young guy who can play right away. Sometimes you can’t find it. So you look for a guy that you hope can play in two or three years.”

Clarkson provided more than that job description.

After sitting in 23 of the first 43 games, Clarkson became the Lakers’ starting point guard for a few reasons. Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash had season-ending injuries. Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price also showed inconsistency at the point guard spot. Clarkson then averaged 15.8 points on 45.8 percent shooting, five assists and 4.2 rebounds in 32.1 minutes through 38 games as a starter. He also finished second among rookies overall in points per game (11.9), third in assists per game (3.6) and free throw percentage (.829), fourth in field goal percentage (.448), and 13th in rebounds per game (3.2).

“It was just staying in the gym and continuing to work,” Clarkson said. “When I did have the opportunity to play, I knew I would be able to help the team.”

Prospects who worked out with the Lakers in the past week took inspiration from Clarkson’s journey. They argued he outlined the blueprint on how under-the-radar selections can provide a strong first impression to their respective NBA careers.

“Clarkson did a great job staying the course,” Virginia junior forward Justin Anderson said. “Coming behind Nash, a lot of people thought he would be taking a year to learn. But his number was called earlier than he thought. It takes a special person to be able to respond at that level.”

Kupchak considered Clarkson that special person mostly because he spent three years in college, a stark contrast from the so-called ‘one-and-done’ players. Clarkson, 22, starred two seasons at Tulsa and one year at Missouri, enticing the Lakers’ front office to pay Washington $1.8 million to secure Clarkson with the 46th pick. Meanwhile, the Lakers worked out 26 players in the last week who played at least three years in college. Still, 16 of those players did not receive invitations to last month’s NBA pre-draft combine.

Parts of Clarkson’s journey also may not translate to other NBA players.

Kupchak may have initially projected Clarkson to land either late in the first round or early in the second round, describing him as a player with “NBA size, NBA speed and athleticism.” But Clarkson’s draft stock arguably dropped for reasons that had nothing to do with his talent. It had plenty to do with Clarkson weathering anxiety over his father having a form of cancer in his back he has since overcome.

Clarkson averaged 15.4 points on 39.2 percent shooting, 3.2 assists and 3.4 turnovers per game after learning about his father’s health. Clarkson had averaged 18.9 points on 48 percent shooting, 3.43 assists and 1.47 turnovers per game beforehand.

Clarkson’s ascension also coincided with the Lakers finishing with their worst record in franchise history partly because players missed a combined 324 games because of injuries. The Lakers expect to have a better team next season because of a presumably healthy Bryant and Julius Randle, Clarkson’s return and the aforementioned draft picks.

“It’s hard to find a guy in the 40’s and 50’s that’s going to play as much as he played on a good team,” Kupchak said of Clarkson. “He had an opportunity on a bad team. But to his credit, he took advantage of it.”

How can the current prospects take advantage of their circumstances?

“It doesn’t matter where you get drafted, it just matters what team you go to and how well you fit in. Clarkson got into a role and kept proving himself to earn his spot,” North Carolina junior shooting guard J.P. Tokoto said. “Wherever I get drafted, whether it happens or not, I’m going to work hard. If it doesn’t, I’ve got to keep trying. Everybody has a different path.”

The Lakers have success stories with late first-round picks, including A.C. Green (No. 23 in 1985), Vlade Divac (No. 26 in 1989), Derek Fisher (No. 24 in 1996), Devean George (No. 23 in 1999), Mark Madsen (No. 29 in 2000) and Jordan Farmar (No. 26 in 2006). The Lakers also have fared mostly well early in the second round, including Luke Walton (No. 32 in 2003), Ronny Turiaf (No. 37 in 2004) and Clarkson.

Kupchak said finding those gems often comes down to “good luck,” mindful that his preferred prospects may no longer remain available once the Lakers are on the clock. But that will not stop the Lakers from doing their homework to maximize their chances to strike big again.

Quote box: “You look for a young guy who can play right away. Sometimes you can’t find it. So you look for a guy that you hope can play in two or three years.” – Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak on what impact the 27th and 34th draft pick can make

Mark Medina has been the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Daily News since 2012. He also works as a Lakers insider for AM570 and is heard on national radio outlets, including The Dan Patrick Show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Chris Mannix Show, Fox Sports Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Yahoo! Sports Radio and SB Nation Radio. Medina also appears frequently on Spectrum SportsNet and NBC4's "Going Roggin."

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